Town of Shawangunk officials have always been proud of the fact that they haven’t exceeded the 2.0 percent tax cap since it was mandated by New York State in 2012.

But when a public hearing is held on November 3 on the Town of Shawangunk’s 2023 budget, the Town Board will present a spending plan that will exceed the tax cap by $83,872.
The total proposed to be raised by taxes is $4,391,668 in 2023.

While the budget presented by Supervisor John Valk cut the amount to be raised by taxes in the general fund by 2.6 percent to $1,574,767, the amount to be raised for taxes in the highway department fund would rise 8.0 percent to $2,200,687 if approved by the Town Board.

The tax rate increase for an average home valued at $300,000 would be $15.30.

During the board’s October 20 meeting, Valk repeatedly asked board members if they thought this was the year the town should bite the bullet and go over the tax cap to give Highway Superintendent Rich Blazeski the funds he needed to fix the town’s roads and upgrade equipment.

“What’s the feeling?” Valk asked the board. “Do we want to exceed the tax cap to do more money for highways? Or do we want to stay under the tax cap and continue to apply more money to highway every year as we have been doing?”

Valk pointed out that the board has increased the highway department budget over the past eight years by about 30 percent.

“That’s almost about a half million in eight years,” Valk said. “Since 2019, we’ve gone up almost $350,000.”

Police chief Gerald Marlatt interjected from the audience that this might be the year to go over the tax cap.

“That’s phenomenal,” he said of not exceeding the tax cap since its inception. “I don’t know of any other town that’s done that. Eventually, at least once, you have to play catch-up.”

“Yeah, but you can still kick the can down the road,” Valk said.

Blazeski made an impassioned pitch to purchase more equipment to maintain the town’s roads.

“The sooner we get after it it’s less money to the taxpayer overall,” he said. “Nothing is getting cheaper.”

Though sympathetic to Blazeski’s appeals for more money, Valk reminded him that not every town resident lives on town roads.

“A person who is retired and lives on a county road, they don’t care,” Valk said. “We don’t pave their roads. We don’t fix their roads. We only hear from the people on the town roads.”

Councilman Brian Amthor said this was the year to go over the tax cap due to the raging inflation that is hitting the country.

“It’s easy to justify this year with the cost of inflation and how everything has gone up,” he said. “I don’t see how any towns cannot exceed the cap. This is the year to do it if you’re going to do it. It’s like being in business. This is the year to raise your prices to get where you need to be because next year you may not be able to do that.”

Councilman Robert Miller said the board must keep the taxpayers in mind when discussing raising taxes.

“There are people out there who live day to day even though they have jobs,” he said. “When they come home and get that tax bill, another 20 to 30 dollars means a lot to them.”

Near the end of the meeting, the board voted 5-0 to pass a law to exceed the tax cap in 2023.

Under the 2023 budget, town officials will receive a 2.5 percent pay increase.
Blazeski’s salary will increase to $58,978 while Town Clerk Jane Rascoe’s salary will be $56,157.

Valk’s annual salary will increase to $37,585, while town board members will be paid $13,484 each. Town Justices Kevin Hunt and Mike Voss will see 2.5 percent increases to $16,401 a year.